Private developers must ’stop holding our cities hostage’: Sinn Fein

Private developers must ’stop holding our cities hostage’ and start building affordable homes on land that has been zoned for housing.

Private developers must ’stop holding our cities hostage’ and start building affordable homes on land that has been zoned for housing.

That is the view of Sinn Fein who were reacting to new figures from EBS which reveal that a lack of housing supply, is having a knock-on effect on affordability for first time buyers.

Nationwide, the average property cost stands as €245,662 - with Dublin, Wicklow, Kildare, Galway City and Meath the most expensive locations to buy.

Sinn Fein Councillor Daithi Doolan, of the Housing Strategic Policy Committee, has said there is a solution.

"The landbanks that are owned by private developers and are zoned for housing need to be built on. We can no longer allow private developers hold our cities hostage . It is unfair, it is unacceptable and it must stop immediately."